A Flashback To 2002
When I created The Ranger Station back in 1999, people started sending me photos and details about their Rangers, which led to the creation of photo galleries. Occasionally I would host a page for those trucks here at TRS, but if the person already had a homepage, I would just link to that.
What’s a “Homepage”
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, having a “homepage” was roughly the equivalent of having your own little corner of the Internet.
Your Internet provider often gave you some free web space as part of your Internet account. You could create an HTML page, upload it to their server, and they gave you a URL where other people could visit it. It wasn’t Facebook, Instagram or a profile page. You actually created the page yourself. You decided what was on it, how it looked, what pictures were there, and what links it contained. If you were a true Radwood enthusiast representing the late 1990s, you wouldn’t have a Facebook page. You’d have a homepage laid out how you wanted it, with whatever you wanted on it.
GeoCities & CarDomain
As the Internet grew, people began looking beyond their Internet providers for places to build their homepages. Services like GeoCities, Homestead, Tripod and Angelfire offered people an easy way to create and host their own pages, often with templates and tools that meant you didn’t have to know HTML or how to upload files. Then came sites built around specific interests, such as CarDomain, where you could create a page dedicated to your car or truck and share photos, modifications and information about it. The Internet was gradually moving from people simply having a homepage to people having an online presence built around the things they enjoyed.
Finding Ed Hale’s 1988 Ford Ranger & Homepage
The earlier-mentioned galleries here at The Ranger Station link to a lot of CarDomain pages and a few rare homepages. While looking for those pages in the Internet Archive, I came across a copy of Ed Hale’s homepage for his 1988 Ford Ranger that I first linked to back in 2002.
Twenty-four years later, his Ranger is still a very impressive truck that deserves to be shared and admired.
The Engine
As soon as I saw all of this blue and chrome, I wasn’t even sure what I was looking at. That’s actually the original Ford 2.9L V6, but the embossed “2.9L Electronic Fuel Injection” has been ground off and the intake plenum has been polished to look like chrome. If you were building a 1990s Ford Ranger for show, this is the kind of detail you needed if you wanted to build a show winner.
This isn’t just a stock engine that’s been made to look pretty. This 2.9L has been bored out to 3.0L using Arias forged pistons along with Motorsport swirl-polished stainless valves, and a ported intake and heads.
More air and fuel flows through the motor thanks to a mild camshaft and a 58mm throttle body, and the exhaust exits through a pair of JBA shorty headers.
Trailmaster Suspension
Trailmaster Suspension was known for offering suspension lift kits in the 1990s, but few probably knew that they also offered lowering kits. Ed’s Ford Ranger features a pair of TrailMaster 3-inch lowering I-Beams and a TrailMaster 4-inch lowering flip kit with 1-inch flipped hangers.
TrailMaster’s signature lowering beams relied on heavy, fabricated box-plate steel construction. During the 1990s, competitors like DJM Suspension popularized tubular steel “DreamBeams.” Tubular manufacturing proved less labor-intensive, less prone to welding distortion, lighter, and significantly cheaper to produce, which ultimately priced fabricated plate beams out of the lowering market.
The 140 MPH Speedometer
On the inside, this Ranger has an interesting arrangement of gauges both in the dash and on the A-pillar. It even appears that Ed has removed the vent between the speedometer and radio and placed two gauges there as well. Notice that the gauges are turned. Your gauges should be angled so that the needles are straight up when they’re at their normal operating position. When you’re driving fast, you don’t have time to read your gauges. When mounted this way, all you have to do is look and make sure that the needles are pointing straight up.
If you look closely at the speedometer, you’ll see that it’s actually a Motorsport 140 MPH speedometer. You definitely don’t see that every day. I believe these were offered through Ford Motorsport from 1986-1993, and the chances of finding one today are extremely rare.
Street Truck of The Month
The members of our forum likes Ed Hale’s 1988 Ford Ranger so much that they voted it the December 2002 Street Truck of The Month.
See other winners at: Street Trucks of The Month
Where Is It Now?
I can’t help but wonder what happened to this truck. Does someone still own it and show it? Is it sitting in a garage somewhere covered in dust? Was it parted out? Maybe someone out there knows. For now, I hope you enjoyed this 2002 flashback.
List of Modifications
Body
- Custom Paint using PPG Deltron. Mercedes Silver, BMW Black, and Chrysler Black Cherry Pearl in the side scallops.
- Shaved Front Turn Signals
- Hot Rod Style Billet Mirrors w/ shaved stock holes
- Shaved bed rail stake pockets
- Shaved Tailgate and flipped handle (Sir Micheal’s)
- Welded in Sir Micheal’s roll pan
- Modded front bumper with PIAA 959 Driving lights
- Flush mount bed cover
- Modded Aerostar front grill
- CATZ HID kit (H4)
Suspension
- Suspension Techniques Sway Bar front and rear.
- TrailMaster 3″ lowering I-Beams
- TrailMaster 4″ lowering flip kit with 1″ flipped hangers
- Bilstein Shocks front and rear
Rolling Stock
- BUDNIK Tiller 18″x7″ Front
- 225/40ZR18 Yokohoma AVS Sport Tires
- BUDNIK Tiller 18″x8″ Rear
- 275/35/ZR18 Yokohoma AVS Sport Tires
Interior
- MoMo JET Steering Wheel
- Recaro SRD reclining buckets
- Autopower 5-point camlock harnesses (SFI)
- MotorSport 140 MPH Speedo
- Autometer carbon fiber oil pressure, water temp, fuel level, and air/fuel ratio gauges.
- Carbon Fiber dash
- A-pillar dual gauge pod
- Momo Shadow shift knob w/ custom leather boot
- Complete color change from red(maroon) to black.
- Complete custom door panels
Stereo
- Clarion 79xx CD player
- Phoenix Gold TBA
- Phoenix Gold 215X
- Phoenix Gold Bass Cube
- 2x Phoenix Gold MPS-2240 HCA amps
- 2x ADS 10″ DVC subwoofers in 3/4″ HDF fiberglassed box
- 2x ADS 1″ tweeter, 4″ mid, 6.5 midbass located in doors
- Complete Phoenix Gold wiring including 1/0 gauge wire from the battery
Engine
- 2.9L bored to 3.0 using Arais Forged Pistons
- MotorSport Swirl Polish Stainless Valves
- Melling Hi Volume Oil Pump
- Mild cam
- Ported and polished heads
- Ported Upper and Lower Intake-port matched to each other and the heads
- JBA Shorty headers
- 58mm Throttle Body
- Cold Air intake using a 9″ K&N cylindrical filter
- 3G polished alternator
- Powder coated valve covers, brackets, oil pan, pulleys
- Polished Water Pump
- Optima Marine Deep Cycle battery
- Taylor 10mm 409 Spiro Pro wires
- Braided lines wherever possible, power steering, all vacuum lines
- Lokar throttle cable
- Stainless radiator overflow bottle
- MSD Digital 6 Plus w/ MSD HVC Coil
- Southland Dual Friction Kevlar clutch
- CarSound Catalytic w/ Flowmaster muffler
- SPAL 16″ 2200cfm electric fan
- BeCool 2 Row Aluminum Radiator (under core support)
Driveline
- DANA Spicer Aluminum driveshaft
- Ford 8.8 Differential housing with 9-inch Ford ends
- 31 spline 9-inch Currie Axles
- Ford Motorsports 4.10 gears
- Eaton Posi
- Currie 11-5/8″ Bullet rear disk brake kit
- Finned Aluminum Diff cover.
Future mods
- Moving batteries into bed
- Installing the Fuel Safe Pro Cell, Paxton pump and filters and -10 SSB lines
- Mustang II Front suspension
- Swap the 18×8’s to the front and get 18×9.5 rims for rear</pre>
Photo Gallery
About The Author
Jim Oaks is the founder of TheRangerStation.com, the longest-running Ford Ranger resource online since 1999. With over 25 years of hands-on experience building and modifying Ford Rangers — including magazine-featured builds like Project Transformer — Jim has become one of the most trusted authorities in the Ford Ranger off-road and enthusiast space.
Since launching TheRangerStation.com, Jim has documented thousands of real-world Ranger builds, technical repairs, drivetrain swaps, suspension modifications, and off-road adventures contributed by owners worldwide. TheRangerStation.com has been referenced in print, video and online by enthusiasts, mechanics, and off-road builders looking for practical, and experience-based information.
